EXPERIMENTS IN ENSILAGE.

Otago Witness, Issue 1893, 2 March 1888, Page 6

EXPERIMENTS IN ENSILAGE.

In this variable climate considerable diffi. culfcy is frequently experienced in saving hay, and to the fact that during the present summer, because of frequent rains when fanners were busily engaged haymaking, extra expenditure was incurred while a proportion of the crops was damaged, may be attributed the growing disposition to more fully consider the ensilage question^. As regards the saving of grasses and clovers, the question is pertinently put by Dr J. Augustus Voelcker in his report to the Eoyal Agricultural Society of England on the ensilage expertments a,t Woburn, conducted under the instructions of a committee of the society. He asks, " Will the farmer, who on account of bad weather or unsuitable climate is unable to make good hay, find that by the system of ensilage he is yet able to save his crop of grass or clover, and, independently of the weather, ensure a valuable supply of succulent food for winter keep 2" A still further, if not greater, importance attaches to the subject in this colony, where the certainty and rapidity of growth of "catch crops" would enable the owners of stock to grow at little cost, and reserve for winter use an abundant supply of feed, provided the making of ensilage is fairly free from risk of loss of the material, and does not involve an outlay beyond the means of the average farmer. The latter consideration — the cost of siloswill prove for some time the main impediment to the extensive adoption of the system, but notwithstanding this material factor, the repeated insistence on the advantage to be secured by this new departure in arm practices has led to the numerous trial experiments in progress this season in various districts within the colony. Jn these progressive times, and with the wide-spread adoption of the ensilage system in countries noted for advanced agriculture, it may reasonably be expected that this method of economising food for stock will be so simplified as, while lessening the cost, the results will b& assured and satisfactory. The comparatiT success which has already attended the "stack-system" of silage is but an earnest of success in what still remains to be accomplished, and with the investigations of scientists, assisted by intelligent experiment, the early determination of certain guiding principles to be observed in the process, and which must necessarily be easy of practical application, may be confidently expected. Ensilagists, if the advocates of the system may be so termed, aver that its advantages have already been conclusively demonstrated, and certain of the Woburn experiments carried out in 1884-5 and 1885-6 apparently justify the contention. Particulars of the experiments, abridged from the official reports, are as follow : In No. 3 feeding trial, the question to be determined was — Will bullocks fatten as well on oaten silage as on a mixture of roots and straw chaff ? The oaten silage used was prepared thus : A silo, Gffc 2in wide, 20ft horizontal depth, and 16ft high, was filled on the 23rd July 1884 with 18 tons 3cwt of oats cut green and chaffed, weighted at once with stones in boxes, weight, six tons, resting on boards. Pressure equal to lewt per square foot. In apportioning the quantities of the foods the main points observed were: — 1. That the two sets of foods to be compared should agree with each other in regard to some of their most important constituents, the portions of dry matter, woody fibre, and nitrogen being' specially observed as the base of calculations. 2. That the purchased food I should be the same in each experiment, and not so large in quantity as to exert too great an influence upon the increase of the animals; if cake and meal were used about 61b per head daily should be sufficient. The experiment lasted from 21st December 1884 till the 13th March following. Two bullocks, which consumed on an average per head daily 521b of oat-silage, 31b decorticated cotton-cake, and 31b maize meal, were tried in the open yard against two others receiving 451b swedes, 9glb straw-chaff, and like quantities of cake and meal. The beasts were weighed on December 21, twice in February, and finally on the 13th March, when the experiment was concluded. The weights duly noted show the increase in weight at the different periods, but it will be sufficient here to state that the total gain in live weight in 82 days of those fed on oatsilage was 2cwt 3qr 111b, and for those fed on swedes and straw-chaff lewt 3qr 251b, or given in another form Gain per head per day with flilage, nearly ... 2 Gain per bead per day with roots and straw ( chaff, nearly ... ... ••• h In experiment No. 4, oat-silage v. hay, eight bullocks were used, two of each set being kept in the shed and two in the yard. Oat-silage in the one case and hay in the other were given ad libitum, with pake and corn as before. The average quantities consumed per head daily were : oat-silage, 491b \ hay, 19£lb. Those taking silage drank 40xb of water, those taking hay 681b each daily. The results were : Total gain in live weight of two bullocks in sheds on ensilage for 4days, 3qr 261b ; those in shed on hay gained during the same period, 2qr 81b, or Gain per head daily on oat-allage ■•• h ., Gain per head daily on hay ... five-seveatflJ In the yard, the total gain in live weigh* of bullocks receiving oat-ensilage during same period was 3qr 181b, while those receiving hay gained 3qr 31b, or Gain per head daily on oat-silage ... I l ' 3 Gain per head daily on hay ..• * The average quantities consumed Vf he *. daily were : Oat-silage, 491b ; bay 19£lb, same as in the shed. t As has been already stated, the &&*£. oats were filled into the silo in July 185 ;' therefore when opened on 18th December 1885 for use in this experiment the silage w a year and a-half old. On opening, a W considerable waste was found by the boarw doorway, extending for as mncn as « inwards ; Gin from the surface was soou and bad, and by the sides 2in to 3m. >vn«J the moulded front portion had. been renio the rest was found to be in excellent com tion, having a very pleasant ar ° ma r° idIt also kept for a long time without mo ing, even when freely exposed. In Jniy

there was a quantity left, still perfectly good, ff bich had been exposed since April. The silage was decidedly acid. Attention is drawn in the report to the jjigh testimony borne by these experiments to the feeding qualities of oat- silage. " Taking together the results of the third and fourth experiments, it is clear that oats cut green and made into silage will produce a y er y valuable feeding material, and one flhich in the present instance has proved superior to either roots and straw-chaff pixed or to hay." The experiments conducted in 1886-87, in continuance of those of the two previous yea rs, are of especial interest, because the purpose wa3 to endeavour to determine the value of grass made into hay as against that fl [ the same quality of grass cut green and converted into silage. " For this purpose it ff as essential not only to take into account the actual weight of grass used, but also the acreage of ground cleared." The herbage of the field chosen, though not really fine, was of very fair quality. "In order to institute jn accurate comparison 5£ acres of ground ff ere accurately measured off, and the grass iras only cut when it was wanted for carting, jot being allowed to lie in the field for any length of Lime. Two carts going side by tjde were filled simultaneously, and then taken to be weighed. After weighing the contents, one cart went to the silo, into ffhich the grass was filled, and the other s ent to a meadow, where the grass was ipread and left for haying." On July 2, 1886, 14 loads of grass, weighing 10 tons llcwt lqr 171b, were put into the jjlo, and at the end of the day covered with boards and weighted to some extent. DurJBcr the night the material sank considerably, 2 nd next day five more loads were added, weighing 4 tons lewt 19qr 3lb, making a total of l'l tons 12cwc 2qr 201b of grass put Into the silo. The grass was trodden down by four men, and then covered over with boards and weighted with stones. The pressure was given by stones in strong elm boxes, B nd amounted to 1121b per square foot. Simultaneously 14 loads of grass, weighing 11 tons lOcwt 3qr 141b, had been spread out on the meadow on July 2 ior haying, and five loads more, weighing 3 tons 16cwt 2qr 151b, were added on July 3, making a total of 15 tons 7cwt 2qr 21b of grass for haying. The weather continued fine throughout, and en the sth July, when the hay was put into rick, it weighed 5 tons 4cwt Oqr lib. The quantities of grass used stood thus :—: —

For the feeding trial 12 two and a-half jear old Hereford bullocks were selected, and divided into two sets, thus :— Four were fed in boxes and two in sheds on hay and purchased food against four in boxes and two in sheds fed on grass silage and purchased food. Each set was allowed hay or ensilage ad libitum, but the quantities given were duly weighed out and recorded. In addition 31b of decorticated cotton cake and 51b of maize meal were allowed per head.

On the lßfch December ISB<>— five and a-half months after the silage and hay had been made— the experiment commenced, and oq the 10th March 1887 it terminated. The following tables give the weights taken on the dates specified : —